Stuck With Each Other
by miyu16
Summary: It's been so long since their last encounter with the hunt, and faced with yet another life altering decision Amy wasn't so sure if she wanted to be a part of all the madness again. Amy x Ian
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own the 39 clues series or any of the characters in it.

**A/N:** Hi there :] Thanks for stopping by to read this fanfic. Although I can't guarantee that you'll like it, I hope you'll enjoy none the less.  
P.S. I would be happy to take you're criticisms and suggestions into serious consideration. R&R :D ~ Bea-pon

**Prologue (4 months after the clue hunt)**

The conference room in the Madrigal stronghold seemed to emanate an aura of uneasy suspense. In it was your typical office place lavished with grey easy back chairs and a long mahogany table at the center. The shades were drawn together in a gesture of privacy, that in which the occupants were thankful for. Over all the space was dim and eerie with what little light passed through.

But it was certainly a sight to behold. The 5 Cahill branch leaders had gathered and were now facing each other in one of the places you'd least expect them to be.

Fiske Cahill, the current head of the Madrigals, stood with the intention of beginning this meeting and diminishing the tense mood that enveloped them. He breathed a troubled sigh and began speaking.

"I know all of you aren't pleased to be here."

That statement was clearly evident with the ominous atmosphere that enclosed the area. He scrutinized their faces watching for some sort of reaction.

Vikram Kabra (Lucian) had that bored expression embedded on his face. Cora Wizard (Janus) looked down upon the man standing in front of him. Eisenhower Holt (Tomas) was gritting his teeth in restraint. And Alistair Oh (Ekaterina) appeared to be calm, but was as pale as a ghost.

"And I won't waste any more of your time with pointless statements. I'm sure every one of us here is aware of the fact that "they" have been showing signs of activity lately, am I correct?"

Silence.

"Well then, I propose a temporary truce, considering the immense danger of the matter."

Eisenhower stirred then frustration crossed his features.

"Just how do expect us to get along Mr. High and Mighty, when we've been annoying the hell out of each other for centuries? Plus, I can't imagine having to work with you wimps." Satisfied, he finished off with a smirk.

"For your information most of us are civilized enough to do just that, unlike you and you're gorilla-sized family." Cora implied using the full force of her haughty demeanor.

He took on the intended blow of that insult, reddening like a tomato in the process. Seething with anger he slammed his fists onto the table with enough impact to damage it.

"You leave my family out of this, Hippie!"

Alistair sensing that this wasn't going to end without violence, set out to stop any other verbal reprimand.

"Now, now lets all settle down and..."

"Alistair, stop acting like a faultless peacemaker. It's revolting." Vikram drawled in his cold, cynical tone.

Alistair, having been offended beyond belief, started to say something, but was immediately cut off by Fiske's booming voice echoing in the enclosure.

"Enough! All of you are acting like children in need of a lecture. And I would be more than happy to give you that if we had the time, which we don't, and if you can't cease you're incessant bickering.

With that, silence once again fell upon their surroundings.

"Now what do you suppose of the truce?"

"It can't be helped. We have to work together if we want to win and protect what's ours" Alistair sighed.

"I have to agree with the old man, we still don't know what we're up against." Eisenhower interceded.

"That is currently the case, but how can we be prepared when they arrive?" Cora questioned.

"We train the children." Vikram stated.

"The kids huh? That's not such a bad idea Cobra" Eisenhower grinned.

"Agreed. Problem solved." Cora replied.

Fiske was mentally weighing the pros and cons of the given alternative, and decided that this was the best option possible with the way things were progressing.

"Alright, I believe that these children have the utmost potential to protect what our family possesses, but we must exercise extreme caution. Not a single word will escape any one of you regarding the objectives as to why we're making them do everything we're about to... At least not now.

"But we can't keep them out of the loop for long. They're bound to find out, sooner or later."

"Later is going to be better for them Alistair, they are still children. We'll have to give them time to... grow up."

An immense feeling sadness overcame Fiske, for he was doing the exact same thing Grace once did. He was going to have to deceive them... again. They should never have been involved in the first place, but faith had made it necessary for them to participate in the race, just as she was making them part of this new scheme.

Although guilt was overrun by a sense of having to shield them from the dangers that were lurking in the shadows. Besides, this could be a good opportunity to restore severed bonds.

"It's decided then. I'll leave the separate arrangements to each of you, and remember to keep quite about this."

Vikram, having once again found the need to talk, spoke up.

"Don't worry; we know just as well to keep the _Vespers_ and this rendezvous a secret from the others."

They left after that, leaving Fiske to ponder over several ways to make things easier for Dan and Amy.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**A/N: **Please don't hesitate to correct me _NICELY_ if I'm wrong :) Watch out for the next chapter :P


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: **First off, I would like to thank the people who have read the first chapter. I have the utmost respect for every one of your opinions, and I will do my best to improve. As for my punctuations, they have been a constant problem in the past and I am now striving to correct my errors, although I can't guarantee an immense change in this chapter '^^

**Chapter One (Amy's POV)**

**5 years afterward**

It was a warm spring day. The flowers were in bloom, the trees were regaining their lush, green color, and all signs of winter vanished as if it never arrived in this quaint neighborhood.

Basking in the sun I watched as Nellie forced Saladin out of his cat carrier for some well needed exercise. He struggled in her grasp and gave her a _mrrp_ of disapproval. Saladin refused to move from where he was set down, thus resulting to the use of Nellie's final option, a ball of yarn. He paid no attention to it at first, but once he saw a thread dangling in front of him he leapt at it and started moving around.

Satisfied, Nellie made her way towards the park bench with a triumphant grin on her face.

"Congratulations! Saladin has yielded to your superior intellect,"

"It's about time too. Seriously, that cat has a major attitude problem; you and Dan should stop spoiling him,"

"We'll try, but I can't make any promises,"

"Fine with me,"

"Besides, he wouldn't be the Saladin we all know and love if he didn't try to defy the wishes of his owner,"

"True that,"

She smiled at that comment, and a comfortable silence took over.

5 years have passed since the hunt had come to an end, and I still couldn't believe how peaceful everything was. Aunt Beatrice wanted nothing to do with us when we returned to Boston, so it wasn't hard to persuade her into handing us over to other guardians. Uncle Fiske managed all of the legal documents, and by the end of year we were under his' and Nellie's care. Dan and I have never been happier; things were finally falling into place for once.

My opinion of Fiske Cahill as the man in black changed when we got to know him better, and I honestly think that he is a kind and generous person.

He's brought us to different places, exposed us to almost everything, taught us skills I've never even dreamed of learning, hired private tutors to educate us on various subjects, (even martial arts and sports) and he has given a place we can call home.

"Amy,"

"Huh?"

I was so engrossed in my own thoughts that I barely noticed Nellie place Saladin back in his cage.

"I just received a text message from Dan,"

"What does it say?"

"See for yourself,"

_Nellie, where are you guys? If you don't come home soon I'm going to waste away from hunger. _

_P.S. You wouldn't want Uncle Fiske to find a lifeless body in the living room, would you?_

"Sheesh, how exaggerated can a 16 year old get?"

"Nellie, this is Dan we're talking about,"

"You're right; we better get home before he raids the neighbor's fridge,"

I laughed at that remark; it wouldn't be unusual to find Dan doing just that.

"Exactly,"

**Minutes later**

We returned home seeing Dan sitting on the couch, munching on a chocolate bar.

"Whatever happened to wasting away from hunger?" I asked raising an eyebrow at him.

"I'm a growing boy, food is a necessity,"

"Yeah right,"

"Where have you been anyway?"

"The park,"

"I don't get why you two like it there so much,"

"We happen to need fresh air,"

"No you don't, we both know that you're an alien bent on taking over the Earth"

"Grow up,"

"I already have, I'm now taller than you by at least half an inch,"

And before I could throw another insult at my brother Nellie began to stop us with a warning.

"Stop it you two or neither of you is getting any breakfast,"

"I'm home,"

Uncle Fiske stepped into the living room with an exhausted smile on his face.

"Welcome home," I beamed at him; he looked like he wanted someone to brighten up his day.

"Amy, my dear how are you today?"

"I'm fine, thank you,"

"That's good. Nellie I need to talk to you, see me in my office once you've finished what you're doing,"

"Roger that,"

It was a perfectly normal statement, although I couldn't help but feel a knot begin to twist in the pit of my stomach when Uncle Fiske uttered it. I ignored the thought and headed for my room.

**A/N: **I know it's not such a great chapter, but I wanted to get something done before I go back to school tomorrow. Sorry again :[ I promise to do better on the next chapter T^T Stupid writer's block! -_-'


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **The previous chapter wasn't really that great, but hopefully this one is better than the last.

**Chapter 2 (Nellie's POV)**

I knocked on the door which lead to his private study, and heard a voice tinged with authority answer.

"Come in,"

Once I entered the room I gazed upon Fiske Cahill's distraught expression; instantly I knew that something was wrong.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

He buried his head in his hands as if the question deepened his worries.

"Nellie, please understand that what I am about to explain might cause a negative reaction from you, so would you let me finish first before saying anything?"

"Of course,"

"The Cahill family, as you are well aware of, isn't a force to be reckoned with. We possess connections that are far from ordinary and yet, there are still people who are aiming for our downfall. The Vespers, they are a family who has sought to rival our talents and superiority. We paid them no heed because they posed no threat to us at first, but as time passed they became more hostile in their acts, so the former branch leaders made it a point to stop them. They succeeded, and eventually things returned to their natural order,"

I could only sit and anticipate what else this crazy family has yet to reveal.

"But now, they are showing signs of activity again,"

"When did this start to happen?"

"5 years ago, and we decided on a plausible solution then,"

I waited for another explanation, and when I didn't get one, I asked.

"What was the solution?"

"We decided that it would best to prepare the children early, and so we did,"

Confused, I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean by 'prepare the children early'?"

He let out an irate sigh then continued, looking as if he were trying to clarify a very difficult situation to a child.

"What I mean is that they will have to play a big part in assuring our family's safety,"

"And?"

He then told me everything, trying as hard as he could to keep his face blank. Once he finished a mixture of shock and displeasure took its toll, and I almost lost my temper with the old man, but then a pained expression ruined his façade of indifference; he managed to get a hold of himself the moment I noticed the change.

"How can I help?"

I made an effort to soften my voice, and to make him see that I understood what he was going through.

"Thank you,"

He smiled weakly, and I knew that if he had a choice he wouldn't have been doing this to Dan and Amy.

"You're welcome, so what do you want me to do?"

He laid out all of the details, and when I was finally out of that room I started wishing that I wasn't a part of this. But it was too late, 5 years too late.

I found Amy reading in the library, as usual. She only noticed me when I blocked the sunrise coming from the window.

"Hey Nellie, what did Uncle Fiske have to say?"

I forced myself to act the part I was given even if I couldn't bare lying to either of them.

"Good news kiddo,"

She set her book aside, waiting expectantly for answers.

"You guys are going on vacation!"

"Really?"

Her eyes lit up with joy, and I winced at her expression.

"Yup, so go tell Dan to start packing,"

"When are we leaving?"

"Now,"

What?"

"You heard me, now go,"

"Wait, aren't you coming with us?"

"I'm afraid not,"

A slight frown formed on her lips.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry; I was planning to tell you after breakfast, my dad called last night asking me to visit sometime this week,"

"Is that so?"

"Cheer up; I'm sure you'll still have fun without me, just call whenever you need help or someone to talk to okay?"

"Of course,"

She put the book back in its place and rushed out of the room.

As soon as she was out of hearing I cursed under my breath, and messed up my already scruffy hair. How am I supposed to look them straight in the eye again when they find out?

**A/N: **Finished at last! :D Review if you'd like.


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